For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 28, 2001

President Proclaims National Hispanic Heritage Month
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

For more than 30 years, the United States has annually celebrated the
rich history and cultural traditions of our Nation's Hispanic American
people. National Hispanic Heritage Month provides us an opportunity to
express deep appreciation to Hispanic Americans for their countless
contributions to our society and to pay tribute again to America's
distinctive diversity.

Since our Nation's founding, Hispanic
Americans have played an integral role in our country's exceptional
story of success. Hispanic Americans served with heroism in
every major American military conflict. The Continental Army benefited
from the valor of Bernardo de Gálvez, who led his frequently
outnumbered troops to numerous victories against the
British. Luis Esteves organized the first Puerto Rico
National Guard and rose through the ranks of the U.S. Army to become a
distinguished Brigadier General. And 38 Hispanics have
earned our Nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of
Honor. The United States academic and scientific communities
benefited from the contributions of Hispanic Americans like physicist
Luis Walter Alvarez, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in
1986. Business leaders like Roberto Goizueta have had a
positive effect on our Nation's economy; and many Hispanics have
greatly influenced America's artistic, legal, and political
communities.

Today, Hispanic culture continues to shape
the American experience. More than 30 million Americans, about 1 in 8
people in the United States, claim Hispanic origin. They
contribute to every walk of contemporary American life, while
simultaneously preserving the unique customs and traditions of their
ancestors. All Americans, regardless of national origin,
celebrate the vibrant Hispanic American spirit that influences our
Nation's art, music, food, and faiths. We also celebrate the practices
of commitment to family, love of country, and respect for others,
virtues that transcend ethnicity, reflect the American spirit, and are
nobly exemplified in the Hispanic American community.

The strong ties that Hispanic Americans
maintain with their ancestral homeland remind us that the United States
must pursue robust relations with its trading partners in Latin America
and the Caribbean. The future of our hemisphere is closely
tied to these relationships, and improving trade will play a vital role
in building important links with our Hispanic neighbors. Main-taining
open and free trade creates job opportunities and promotes economic
growth, improving the welfare of every citizen in every land it
touches. Thus, we will negotiate for freer markets, which
will allow us the opportunity to obtain better protections for our
hemisphere's environment and will promote political freedom throughout
the region.

We have a great opportunity before
us. By working together, we can achieve a fully democratic
hemisphere, bound together by good will, cultural understanding, and
free trade. The many contributions of Hispanic Americans to
our Nation will help us reach this important goal by helping connect
our country with the Hispanic nations to our south. This
month, we celebrate the talents, culture, and spirit of Hispanic
Americans, which deeply enrich our country and bless our people.

The Congress, by Public Law 100-402, has
authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation
designating September 15 through October 15, as "National Hispanic
Heritage Month." I am proud to do so.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH,
President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do
hereby proclaim September 15 through October 15, 2001, as National
Hispanic Heritage Month. I call upon all the people of the
United States to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies and
activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my
hand this twenty-eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand one, and of the Independence of the United States of America
the two hundred and twenty-sixth.